Sunday, September 11, 2005

Thoughts On Our Religious War

"The corporate, political and religious right converge here, led by a president who, in his own disdain for science, reason and knowledge, is the most powerful fundamentalist in American history."

The 21st Century America -- a description is elusive. Tolerance, once the hallmark of Democracy, seems to have been erased as we divide and divide along every issue imagineable. War was not part of the vision most of us had as we moved into the year 2000. Long before Sept. 11, 2001, the nation was battered by a religious-political agenda from within, and on that day the homeland felt the horrors of religious warfare that had been raging overseas for decades. In the scope of human history, religious-political warfare has held center stage, dominating our very existence.

I do not have the words or the skills to explain our times, though I have seen and heard and read and wrestled with the conflicts of a nation still trying to fulfill the ideals of the American Revolution which saw the need for equality, liberty, and freedom from oppression. I can point you to an address given to students at Union Theological Seminary this week by Bill Moyers, where the quote above originated. It is a long essay, which will raise many questions. You can read ithere, and hopefully you will think for yourself about where we are and what challenges lie ahead.